Taste Like Metal
by Fan of U
Summary: "What you said Mikey...is something we never want to hear...ok?"
1. Never Again

"Hey...Donnie."

"Yes Mikey?"

"...What's blood made of?"

The three older turtles immediately looked at their youngest with wide eyes. All of them were surprised and shocked by the question. They all looked at each other concerningly, then back at him. Mikey blinked, waiting for Donnie to answer him. Donnie gulped nervously.

"U-Uh...well it's made up of...w-why do you want to know?"

Mikey moved his tongue a bit in his mouth. He hummed a bit in thought before answering."Taste like metal."He looked at his brothers and gave them a small smile."A little salty too..."

They didn't return the smile. In fact, they didn't even look at him anymore. Instead, the floor looked more interesting than anything at the moment for them. Mikey's smile disappeared. He was confused, though he could tell his brothers were sad. The reason why, however, he was absolutely clueless.

"Hey...bros...whats wrong? It was just a question...I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat you know."Leo said sadly, still looking at the floor. It was just above a whisper, but Mikey could tell there was a hint of anger in it.

"Yeah, so why don't you just shut your mouth."Raph said rather harshly. There was definitely anger in his voice.

"Mikey..."The young turtle looked at Donnie, who didn't look back at him."Never ask that question again."His voice was soft, but with an almost threatening tone to it.

"But-"

"Never again!"

Mikey stared at his brothers in shock. The three clenched their fists and stood up quickly, breathing a bit heavily from their shouting. He's never seen his brothers so angry...or scared. Tears were slowly starting to form in their eyes. He tried to get up, but was too weak to. His brothers really needed some cheering up.

'I don't understand...why are they like this? It's not like it's their...'

Realization finally hit the young turtle. He finally understood why his brothers were acting like this.

"...It's not your fault."

"Yes it is."Leo said, silently crying.

"You guys didn't know..."

"We should have!"Raph said loudly at him, tears streaming down on his cheeks."We should have know something like this would've happened!"

"How would you dudes-"

"We're your big brothers Mikey!"Donnie yelled, frantically trying to wipe his tears away."We're supposed to protect you! We're supposed to protect you with our lives and we failed! It can't be the other way around!"

"Why did you have to be the hero? Why?!"

"Leo..."

"Taste like metal...do you really think we wanna hear that? Do ya?!"

"Raph..."

Donnie went up to his baby brother and hugged him gently, but firmly. Leo and Raph saw this and did the same. Mikey slowly lifted his arms up and hugged them back. He started to shed tears of his own. They were like this for a few minutes, quietly crying in each others arms.

"What you said Mikey...is something we never want to hear...ok?"Donnie asked softly.

Mikey nodded.

"And we're sorry we yelled at you. We were just really worried and scared."Leo said.

"Yeah...sorry bro."

Mikey wiped the tears off his freckled face and gave them a small smile again."It's ok...and seriously...it wasn't your fault. None of you."He coughed a bit and raised his arm to cover it. He coughed some blood out and grabbed the tissues next to his bed to clean his arm. His brothers gave him a worried look.

"A little bit of blood never hurt anyone."He reassured them."Besides, it's gonna take a whole lot more than a dozen of foot ninjas to take me down."He smiled at them and they managed to smile back. They hugged once more, knowing everything was going to be alright.

"Hey...Mikey."

"Yeah Donnie?"

"Next time you want to be a hero...be more careful next time."

"And thats an order baby brother, if not..."

"We'll kill ya."


	2. A Question

This story was going to be a one-shot, but since many of you were a bit confused of what happened exactly(Can't blame you, I read it over and realized it was a bit confusing too), I decided to add a few more chapters to clear things up.

Thanks for everyone who review, follow, and or favorite this story. It's really appreciated.

* * *

It took an entire week, but Mikey finally gained his strength back and felt a whole lot better. His brothers also felt better knowing their baby brother was alright. Something was bothering him, though. Something that he really wanted to know. They were all in the living room watching TV when Mikey decided to ask that something.

"Hey guys."When his brothers looked at him, he realized that maybe asking them wasn't such a good idea.'If just asking them what blood was made of freaked them out...I can't imagine...'His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Raph's.

"You were saying something bro? Spaced out of there for a minute."

"Oh um...nothing, never mind..."

"Are you sure?"Leo asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."There was a moment of silence after that and the three older brothers grew suspicious of him. Raph, who was sitting next to Mikey on the couch, looked at his other brothers and silently told them to come over. The two understood and got up from the floor. Donnie sat on the other side of Mikey, while Leo knelt in front of him.

"Whatever's on your mind Mikey, you can tell us."Leo said seriously, but softly.

He hesitated."...I...I have a question."He said a bit nervously.

Raph's hand gripped tighter on his shoulder."It better not be about blood Mikey..."He threatened in a low voice.

"We told you we never want to hear about it again."Donnie said softly and angrily.

"I know, but...something's really bothering me. It's not just about the blood, it's about..."He trailed off. He didn't want to make his brothers angrier than they already were. On the other hand, his curiosity was really biting him.

"About what baby brother?"Leo asked gently, a hint of anger was in his voice.

After a few minutes of silence, Mikey told them whats on his mind and his question.

"What happened after the fight? I mean, I know what happened...just not all of it. There's some parts I don't remember. Some of its a blur."Mikey looked at his brothers and saw their heads were down, he didn't need to look at their faces to tell they were sad yet again.

"Mikey..."Leo said in a sorrowful tone."We...We almost lost you baby brother."


	3. Tell Me

To Magiccatprincess:Yes, this is based on the newer version, 2012, of the turtles.

Thanks for everyone who review, follow, and or favorite this story. It's really appreciated.

* * *

"Wh...What?"Mikey couldn't believe what Leo just said. He didn't think it was that serious. They told him it wasn't that serious. He just couldn't believe it.

'Did my bros...lie to me?'

"It's true..."Donnie said softly. Tears were threatening to escape his eyes. He tried not to cry, but failed. They were now flowing slowly and freely down his cheeks.

"You were...almost killed...knucklehead."Raph said sorrowful. Letting go of Mikey's shoulder, he placed his hands over his face. Closing his eyes tightly, he struggled to keep his eyes from watering. Like Donnie, though, he failed miserably as tears ran down on his cheeks.

"B-But y-you bros said..."

"We lied."Leo said, his voice cracking slightly."We...thought it was for the best."He cried quietly. He didn't bother trying to wipe them away.

Mikey was speechless. He didn't know what to say to them. He didn't even know how to feel about this. How could he? After a few moments of silence, he spoke to them in a soft voice that was just above a whisper.

"I wasn't fine...I wasn't ok. It wasn't just a little bit of blood...it was serious. It wasn't the medications. You bros...lied to me." His brothers hesitated for a few seconds, until they all nodded a bit in response.

"We're so sorry Mikey."Leo said sadly.

"When you woke up and couldn't remember everything that happened..."

"We lied so ya wouldn't have to worry."Raph said, finishing Donnie's sentence.

Mikey looked at them seriously, which was a rare and fearful sight for the three."Tell me what I don't remember."He said demandingly. No one said a word. He glared at them angrily and stood up quickly off the couch. Shaking with anger, he clenched his fists tightly and screamed.

"Tell me right now! I deserve to know! It's all your fault anyways right, right?! All your fault! So, the least you could do is tell me the truth! Your baby brother, who apparently almost died, wants to know what happened right now!"

* * *

Sorry for those of you who thought this chapter would reveal what happened to Mikey, but don't worry, the next chapter will definitely explain everything. So, what do you think happened?


	4. What Happened

Thanks for everyone who review, follow, and or favorite this story. It's really appreciated.

* * *

Tears were creeping its way on his eyes. He breathed a bit heavily as he looked at his brothers angrily. When he looked at them, however, his anger slowly faded away. Their faces showed absolute fear, shock, and guilt. He looked down, feeling guilty himself.

He sat back down on the couch."I'm...I'm sorry...I-I didn't mean-"

His brothers interrupted him with a hug. They held him tightly, until he stopped crying. He took a deep breath and sighed."I'm sorry. You bros know that I would never say that."

"It's alright Mikey...we deserve that."Leo said, while Donnie and Raph nodded.

"So...will you bros..."

The three hesitated, they really didn't want to tell him. The truth, sadly, had to be revealed sooner or later, though. They all knew this. Leo sighed and looked at Donnie, who nodded at him. Then, he looked at Raph, who just closed his eyes and silently nodded as well.

Finally, taking a deep breath, Leo spoke in a soft voice, looking down sadly.

"Whats the last thing you remember?"

Mikey thought about it for a minute."I remember a robot foot ninja choking me to death. You bros saved me, though..."

"Is that all?"

"Well...when you bros saved me I was coughing some blood...and that's it."

"No it's not."He looked at his baby brother with pain filled eyes."When that foot attacked you and started choking you, we immediately took action and brought it down, along with the rest of them. You were in my arms...coughing blood..."He trailed off, not wanting to say more.

Donnie noticed this and continued for him."It wasn't much, though. So, I thought you were going to be just fine...until the Kraang showed up out of nowhere."He said the last statement angrily. Raph decided it was his turn to tell the story.

"They shot us with their rays guns as soon as they saw us. We almost fell from the roof, but we manage to get a grip on the ledge. Leo lost his grip on ya when he got hit..."Raph growled."You were surrounded by them..."

"I should of held you tighter..."Leo said in anger."They took advantage of you...you tried to get up, but two of them held you down. The third one pointed the ray gun at you and..."He closed his eyes tightly, tears slowly flowing out of them.

"Pulled the trigger...and pulled...and pulled, and pulled!"Raph yelled and growled fiercely."Aimed at your neck too!"

"They've must have seen the marks that foot robot did to you."Donnie said."As soon as we got back on the roof, we fought them with everything we've got! The damage...but the damage was done..."Donnie cried softly.

"You were screaming in such pain..."Leo said while more tears were flowing down his face.

"I held on to you...you coughed so much more blood..."Donnie said, sobbing.

"We had to get you to the lair quick, so I carried you all the way."Raph was on the verge of tears as he said this."When we got there, we went to Donnie's lab and tried to help you as much as we can."His tears were now in the open."Splinter came in and we told him everything, he helped too."

"You were choking on your own blood...so much blood!"Donnie cried out."So much that...you almost died from blood loss baby bro."He sniffed."I gave you some medications to make you feel better. They had no side effects, but I told you that so you wouldn't know that the real reason for your drowsiness and dizziness was...well, you know..."

Leo sighed."And that's what happened..."


	5. Thanks Mikey

Smile-I-mTheEndOfAllThatYouSee:Thanks, I thought it would give the story more feeling.

Thanks for everyone who review, follow, and or favorite this story. It's really appreciated.

* * *

Everything came back to him like a flash. He remembered everything that happened. It all made sense now. It all came a little too quickly, though, as a headache began to form. He held his head in his hands and groaned in discomfort.

"Mikey!"His brothers called out to him in unison.

"It's ok dudes...Its just...It's just all coming back to me."

Donnie sighed."Now do you understand why we didn't want to tell you?"

Mikey nodded."Yeah...now I do. Hey bros? I'm...I'm really sorry you had to go through all that."He said sadly.

"Your sorry? We're sorry that you had to go through all that! No baby brother of mine should ever had to experience something like that."

"Leo's right."Raph chuckled, and it wasn't because of the fact that he actually agreed with him. There was another reason behind it."You just had to be the hero..."He said with a sad smirk on his face.

"How could we have not notice them? How did you notice them?"Donnie asked Mikey.

"My turtle senses were tingling."

"Mikey..."

"An annoying, little fairy told me."

"Mikey."

"Well, when you have a power level over 9000..."

"Mikey!"

"Ok, ok."He took a deep breath.

"I just finished fighting a foot robot and checked how you dudes were doing. When I did, you were all too busy to notice a bunch of them coming at you bros from behind. I was scared that they would get you guys, but I ran as fast as I can and tried my best to defeat them. Your welcome by the way, and I beat two of them down...but one managed to get me..."He laughed uneasily.

Leo smiled at him, and petted him on the head."Thanks Mikey. We couldn't have asked for a better baby brother. What you did was really brave of you to do. "Raph and Donnie both smiled and agreed.

"A sign of a true ninja."The four turtles looked up and saw Splinter standing in front of the doorway to the dojo.

"Like a turtle do."He smiled brightly at his family.

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The next chapter will be the last one. I didn't expect this story to get so far, but I'm glad it did. I really enjoyed making this. And can anyone guess all the references I put? There's four of them, most are pretty obvious, though.


	6. Live Now

The four references from last chapter, in order, were:Spider-Man, Legend of Zelda, Dragon Ball Z, and the 2012 TMNT.

Thanks for everyone who review, follow, and or favorite this story. It's really appreciated.

* * *

"Mikey let's go."

"Oh, come on Leo! We've been jumping on roofs all night! Can't we take a break?"

"Just listen to Leo, Mikey."

"Raph's right. Now, let's get out of here quickly."

"Whats the rush Donnie?"

"N-No rush...just...we should just keep moving that's all."

He looked at his older brothers with a confused look. They looked nervous, scared, and worried. They sounded like it too.'What's going on with them? They were just fine before, but now...'His thoughts trailed off as his eyes caught something just a few feet away from him.

It looked like dried up liquid...a red splatter of...

His eyes widened. He looked around him and realized how familiar it all seemed.'Wait a minute...'He looked at his brothers and pointed at the mess."Is this...what I think it is bros?"

"Let's go Mikey."Leo said a bit urgently, ignoring the question completely.

"No."

"Mikey."Raph growled.

"I'm tired and I'm going to rest here."He crossed his arms and tilted his head upwards, making his point."And that's final...so, ha!"He exclaimed.

"You can rest Mikey, but just not here ok?"Donnie said, trying to reason with him.

"Bros come here."He said softly.

His brothers hesitated, but eventually they came towards him. They avoided the blood while doing so. When they got close to Mikey, he pointed at the dried blood."That dudes, is all in the past. Can we try to live now, cuz if we don't...I don't think we're gonna live for the future."

They all looked at him with flabbergasted looks, not expecting something...so profound to come out of their baby brother's mouth. He gave them all a bright smile with a slight chuckle. Then, he ran right past them, flipped over the "past", and jumped to another roof."Come on slowpokes! What are you waiting for?"

Slowly, his brothers looked at each other and smiled.

"I thought you said you were tired?"Leo asked amusingly while he, Raph, and Donnie, tried to catch up with him.

Instead of giving them a straight forward answer, he simply flashed them the biggest grin he ever made and yelled at the top of his lungs."Booyakasha!"


End file.
